After much deliberation and contribution to Paisley YMCA over the past several weeks, we can announce both the departure and addition of several members to our board.
We say a fond goodbye to members such as Jim Moulson, Peter Gill, Bob Copleton, John McLaren and John McDonald, all of whom have worked hard serving as Board members for many years, and we thank them and wish them well in the future.
We welcome our new board Chair, Craig Green, who has served as a member of the board for two years.
Craig says “I’m honoured to have been elected as Chair. We face a daunting financial position after the effects of Covid on the organisation and the fire which destroyed our original Makerspace premises and which badly set us back. But, we’re now rebuilding our services after a return to the High Street in Paisley and we’re cautiously confident that we’ll be able to secure funding to continue and to further develop the services which make a real, positive difference to young people in the Paisley area – and our confidence comes from knowing the value of our skilled and dedicated staff team.”
When asked what motivates him and others to give up time to support Paisley YMCA, he says that “It’s our values which sustain us – we work on the basis that people should treat others as they’d like to be treated themselves, and we work to support people in need, whoever they may be. These are fundamental Christian values and while many of us are not at all religious, they’re values which unite us and which if everyone lived by, would make the world a far better place”.
We are also thrilled to welcome our first female Vice Chair, Karen Murphy.
She states: “The last couple years have been a trying time for Paisley YMCA, as well as the wider youth sector, due to the impact of COVID on our service delivery but also our young people. We are also still recovering from the fire at William Street. We have a lot to rebuild and redevelop.
“However, I am confident that we can build Paisley YMCA up to again be the national leading organisation within the digital youth work field. We are redeveloping our High Street premises to be another ‘makerspace’, which I know our young people are keen to see. We will not disappoint them.”
Our board also now includes Alex McFarlane, Diane Mitchell, David Keenan, Stuart Lowe and Gillian May.
We happily welcome our new board members and we look forward to their contribution to the future of Paisley YMCA.